LONDON (Reuters) - Drinking less alcohol, eating more
vegetables and exercising can prevent or delay the onset of
diabetes, researchers said on Friday in a study showing that
lifestyle changes can make a big difference.

Diet and exercise reduced the incidence of diabetes by
about 43 percent over 20 years among 577 high-risk Chinese
adults, the researchers reported in the journal Lancet.

At the end of the 20 years, 80 percent of those who changed
what they ate and exercised more had diabetes, compared with 93
percent who made no changes, said Guangwei Li of the
China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing and Ping Zhang at
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The findings came as part of a series of studies addressing
new research about diabetes, which affects 246 million adults
worldwide, and accounts for 6 percent of all global deaths.

"The challenge is to translate research findings into
substantial clinical improvements for patients. Although
prospects are hopeful, they are not assured," the Lancet wrote
in a commentary.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90 percent of all
diabetes cases and is closely linked to obesity and physical
inactivity. Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease often
diagnosed at an early age.

The International Diabetes Federation estimates more than
380 million people will have a form of diabetes by 2025 as more
developing nations adopt a Western lifestyle.

The researchers followed 577 Chinese adults at risk of
diabetes over a 20-year period to see how prodding people to
change their lifestyles could affect their health.

The volunteers were assigned to either a control group or
one of three groups that included an improved diet, better
exercise or a combination of both.

The researchers did not say what specific foods or amount
of exercise contributed to the health improvements but said the
findings provide an effective strategy to deal with a disease
that kills about 3 million people worldwide each year.

"This study has shown that ... group-based interventions
targeting lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise produce a
durable and long-lasting reduction in incidence of type 2
diabetes," the researchers wrote.

Another team reported that insulin infusions or multiple
daily injections given early to people with newly diagnosed
type 2 diabetes helped the body's insulin-producing cells and
restored blood sugar control faster than standard pills.

Too much glucose, or blood sugar, in the blood -- a
hallmark of diabetes -- can damage the eyes and kidneys, and
also leads to heart disease, stroke and limb amputations.